The Diary of a Long Term Investor. I have had over thirty years experience of investing in Stock Markets around the World. I have successfully navigated my way through the booms of the 1980's and 90's; the Tech Bubble, Black Mondays Galore and The 2008 Crash
Follow me as I add my insight to the day to day methods of an Investor who HAS Survived.

Pages

Thursday, March 21, 2013

On the Rails

As you may know from other posts I am in favor of railroad stocks in the current economic climate.

Yesterday I had to use the train to travel to an appointment. My Amtrak train was delayed by fifteen minutes.

This may come to some as a cause to complain. For me it turned into a research opportunity.

The cause of the delay was the movement of three very long and full Burlington Northern and Santa Fe freight trains. Two were heading south through Central California, possibly to Los Angeles and San Diego. The third train was equally as long as the other two, stacked to double capacity on all of its cars with lots of CSX containers. Possibly bringing goods up to Northern California to be distributed across the mid-west and Eastern seaboard.

Just a few months ago, it was rare to see one long freight train as large as these, I estimate a mile long each, and when you did see a freight train it often had dozens of empty cars.

Of course three full trains a recovery, doesn't make. But with the visual evidence of goods moving and rail companies being able to move lots of goods at lower costs I am still happy to invest in railroads.

For the requirement of disclosure, I hold stock in Union Pacific Railroad (UNP) and CSSX (CSX).

So as you walk around or drive, keep an eye on trends you never know what opportunities for research lie in plain sight.

Amazon Affilliate Declaration

William Elliott is a participant in the AmazonServices LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed toprovide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking toamazon.com.”